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Project Studies Neutron Stars

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A Hope College professor's on-going study of neutron stars with NASA has received
support through a Cottrell College Science Award from Research Corporation.

A Hope College professor's on-going study of neutron stars with NASA has received
support through a Cottrell College Science Award from Research Corporation.

Dr. Peter Gonthier, associate professor of physics, is studying how neutron stars produce gamma radiation, seeking to find a model that explains why the stars behave as they do. It's highly theoretical research, but also the sort of how-the-universe-works question that Gonthier finds compelling. "NASA has a vested interest in high-energy phenomena, and this is just one class of objects that exhibits this set of characteristics that we somehow need to explain in order to understand the universe we live in," he said. "The challenge is to develop the theory that applies to these environments." Gonthier noted that neutron stars have about one- and-a-half times the mass of earth's sun, while being typically only 12 miles in diameter. He is part of a research team studying a class of neutron star known as pulsars, which emit a beam of gamma radiation that comes into view from earth as the star rotates, much as a lighthouse beam comes into and out of view. By clocking the amount of time that passes between the beam's appearances, scientists can measure how quickly any given star is spinning. Pulsars might complete a rotation as seldom as once every five seconds, or as often as 1,000 times per second. Scientists have learned that the stars slow down as time passes, as they draw the energy for their beams from their spinning energy, according to Gonthier. Gonthier's work focuses on the role of the stars' magnetic fields in the process. Since these strong field environments cannot be reproduced on earth, researchers have to rely on theory to describe phenomena near the surface of neutron stars. He is focusing on a recently discovered type of pulsar known as a magnetar. Magnetars have magnetic fields that are 100 to 400 times stronger than is typical for pulsars. "We're discussing perhaps the most intense magnetic fields in the universe," he said. Gonthier is conducting his research in collaboration with Dr. Alice K. Harding at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center near Washington, D.C. He and Harding have worked together since 1992, and he has been pursuing his current research project since 1997. He anticipates that their current project will require at least another year. His activities this summer include working with Harding and her team at the center for seven weeks. He is accompanied by two student researchers: Michelle Ouellette, a 1999 Hope graduate from Milford, and Rachel Costello, a junior at the College of Wooster who is from Greensburg, Pa. Research Corporation is a foundation for the advancement of science. The Cottrell College Science Program supports basic research in chemistry, physics and astronomy at public and private, predominantly undergraduate colleges. The $30,347 award that Gonthier received is underwriting travel expenses and summer research stipends. Support for the students' participation this summer has also come from the Michigan Space Grant Consortium, of which Hope is a member, and the National Science Foundation's "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" program. Through the funding from the consortium, Ouellette is modelling the observability of the gamma ray pulsars. Her research relates to NASA's work on a gamma ray detector telescope that Gonthier said should be in use in about five years.